Seven things to think about when starting a side business

Fixed wage and salary employees can control how much they spend and save. What they cannot control is their take home pay. Instead of finding new ways to stretch dollars, try new ways to make additional income. What do you have to lose? Consider whether you signed any agreements with your employer regarding doing work or conducting business outside the scope of your primary employment. If there is nothing holding you back and you have what you think is enough time to devote to secondary income, get a pen and paper or your text to speech tablet and take notes while considering a few questions a budding entrepreneur should ask when considering small business start ups.

What do you love to do, so that when doing it you wouldn’t feel like you’re working? Why not make money doing something you enjoy? Think about all the things you like doing and let your imagination run. There must be someone, somewhere, who will pay for what you want to make or do.

Is there something in demand that you know how to do/make that others don’t? Think of a prevalent industry where you live or work. Say you live in a college town and the delivery of food and services to students without vehicles is a big business. How can your skills and abilities improve the way people deliver, what they deliver or how students can find out about it? It may take some time for the right idea which may come to you in a dream or “Eureka!” moment.

Do you have space and transportation available to manage inventory? Consider the existing resources to which you have access. Do you live on a large enough property you could raise chickens? Have you considered renting additional space to people looking for a space to park their boat? Aside from land, you might have a truck that can help local people move or pick up and deliver their furniture donations. Maybe you pick up and inventory of items on which you got a great (maybe free) deal. If you have room to store the items you can take your time selling it for income.

Are your skills and abilities particularly in demand in performing a certain service? How many degreed professionals who cannot find jobs learned how to play an instrument? Could they teach other people how to play that instrument on the side? Start a social media page to sell guitar lessons and start telling your neighbors. Before long you may be the muse behind a new local garage band that could become the next big thing.

How much liability are you willing to assume and what assets do you have to protect? There are several options for small business formations. If you have assets you want to protect, a corporation setup can shield you from personal liability for the business. On the other hand, if you are less concerned about asset protection in lawsuits and more concerned with saving money, you can operate a business as a sole proprietor and simply file the correct income schedule form when doing your taxes.

Do you have management and human resource skills needed if you have employees? Sudden and swift business growth can create headaches for small business owners. If you cannot provide enough goods and services as requested by customers, they will go spend their money somewhere else. This might require hiring and managing employees, which includes its own challenges.

How much of your work can you comfortably outsource where practical? Employee labor and liability concerns cause many small business operators to consider outsource solutions for some of the work duties. Consider a tree trimming business that can be very busy in the spring. Many small business owner operators hire contractors to manage the marketing and accounting to free up more time for serving tree trimming clients.

Even if you never start your own small business, considering responses to these survey questions puts you in a class of “thought about it” people, which is a step closer to having more money and being self sufficient. There are so many options available to people who want to earn more money as well as manage, organize and eliminate debt.

The U.S. Small Business Association also offers resources on their website. “The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.”

To learn more or, contact an attorney at Joseph Wrobel, Ltd. The firm’s website contains informative videos about financial issues as well as bankruptcy protection for families who want a fresh start. To keep in touch and read about consumer finance news and stories you can Like the firm’s Facebook page and Follow Joseph Wrobel. Ltd. on Twitter. If you need immediate legal assistance, please call Joseph Wrobel, Ltd. by calling (312) 781-0996 to talk to an attorney.